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Welcome to Sadie Valeri's
Online Atelier for Drawing and Painting
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A rigorous and comprehensive classical atelier program with affordable personal mentorship options.
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Beginners and artists of all experience levels are welcome!
Learn the historic academic techniques of the Old Masters: Portrait, figure, landscape, and still life, in graphite, charcoal, and oil paint.
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Purchase individual courses or become a member for immediate access to all our courses. Join one of our mentorship programs for personal instruction and coaching.
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Start any time, work at your own pace.
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An ARC Approved Atelier
Drawing Courses
Classical Drawing with Graphite
Our drawing program starts with an introduction to 19th century classical French academic drawing, which prepares students for Bargue Plate Drawing and Cast Drawing. Advanced graphite pencil shading techniques and historic training exercises lead to significant leaps in drawing ability.
See all Graphite Drawing Online Courses
"This has been the class I've been looking for since rekindling my love and desire to draw and paint again some years ago. A method of progressive learning to see and to understand what I'm looking at and a means to break the subject into manageable steps and pieces a little at a time."
Classical Drawing with Charcoal
Sadie shares timeless principles for capturing proportion and light in her clear, descriptive teaching style. Techniques for creating strong, light-filled charcoal drawings of subjects like drapery, casts, and the human figure can be applied to any subject.
See all Charcoal Drawing Online Courses
"Sadie is a wonderful and joyful teacher. I had been struggling trying to understand cast drawing on my own but her video gave me several 'aha' moments."
Painting Courses
Alla Prima Oil Painting
Contemporary Impressionist
This single-session, wet-in-wet method works best for quickly capturing fast-changing subjects like flowers and landscapes with fresh brush strokes.
See all Painting Online Courses
"The videos are filled with gems and information like no other course I watched."
Direct Oil Painting
Italian Renaissance
An efficient method for creating a finished painting with a few layers, starting with an under painting and completed with a couple color layers.
See all Painting Online Courses
“Amazing instructional videos, clear, concise, and to the point. I’ve learnt more from these videos than 4 years of university instruction.”
Indirect Oil Painting
Dutch Golden Age
The most time-consuming and technical of the three methods, Indirect oil painting starts with a detailed graphite line drawing and gray-scale under painting, followed by several layers of full-color painting, including glazing and scumbling for a highly refined finish.
See all Painting Online Courses
"Sadie's philosophy, coupled with her passion, shine forth in all of her teachings. But more than that, her pedagogy is sound: I have been finding her content to be constructive, positive, encouraging... and presented in a way that the student can actually incorporate into their art practice."
Membership
Mentorship Programs
Sadie offers the most affordable personal mentorship programs available online for classical art training. All our mentorship programs include instant access to all of all our drawing and painting courses, plus bonus courses and access to the community forums.
Blog
Blog
Since 2006 Sadie had been publishing a well-known blog sharing her painting and drawing techniques. Get a glimpse into Sadie's studio and her current paintings and projects.
About Us
About Sadie Valeri
Sadie Valeri is an internationally recognized classical oil painter based in San Francisco, California. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and Europe and featured in dozens of periodicals and books. She has been invited to judge several national art competitions and has been a faculty member at the Portrait Society of America's annual conference and a headlining presenter at the F.A.C.E Figurative Art Conference.
About the Atelier
Sadie began accepting private students to her studio in 2009, and over the following decade she and her husband Nowell created a nationally-known ARC-approved atelier art school instructing 150 students a week in a 3,500 square foot studio. She has been teaching students online since 2016.
Help and F.A.Q.
Where should I start?
Intro to Classical Drawing and Intro to Oil Painting are accessible courses for beginners and valuable in-depth reviews of the fundamentals for all levels of experience. Get help and guidance from our instructors with an affordable mentorship program.
